So I picked up this AEV Moab bumper off of Craiglist for a great price. One of the items that were missing were the crush cap covers. To replace them was going to be about $70.

So I got to thinking, that I wanted to put something on the bumper instead to make it more functional instead of buying the crush cap covers. I saw mods from others who put D Rings in place of the Crush Caps, and I also saw some who put the factory Tow Hooks in that crush cap location as well. I liked these ideas, but I didn't like the fact that there was nothing on the front of the bumper for one of the main purpose of a bumper.....bumping into things.

So I live in Michigan on a residential back road which don't get plowed in the winter nearly enough after a heavy snow storm which hasn't been a problem for me owning a JK. In fact this is when I enjoy driving those roads the most, to go and play in 1-2 ft of un-plowed snow with tire ruts. It's the closest thing I get to an offroad experiencing on the road. I often go out and give the non Jeep owner's in my neighborhood a hand by pulling them out when they're stuck in the middle of the road. Often is the case, it's some poor sap driving a Ford/GM rear wheel drive full-size pickup who's there with his rear wheels spinning and burning all the tread off his tires. Last winter I helped a fella out, by placing my front bumper up against his rear bumper since we were at similar heights. That's when I learned that those crush cap covers on the stock JK bumpers aren't really meant for pushing, since it put a nice wrinkle on the plastic knobs of my front bumper. So I was thinking, it would be really nice to have some solid rubber push blocks on the front bumper instead.

I haven't really seen anyone else with push blocks on their JK, but I'm sure there has to be some rescue Jeeps out there.

Ideally, I'm thinking I would like to have either Tow hooks or D-Rings on the front of my AEV Moab bumper, as well as having push blocks where the crush cap covers are located. The Tow hooks will give me somewhere to hang my winch hook as well as give me the usual functionality of a tow hook, and then the push blocks would allow me to push vehicles out of the snow without causing damage to either vehicle. Since I have the stock Tow hooks, using these will be my 1st option. No need to go get additional parts.

Here's what my AEV front bumper currently looks like:


Here's what I came up with and how I envision it going together. Does anyone know where I could purchase some Push Blocks that would be about the size of the AEV Crush Can covers? Anyone see any potential problems in this idea? Anyone else ever do push blocks on their front bumper?

AEV Moab bumper Crush Caps replaced with Tow Hooks and Push Blocks Mod Concept idea:

 

Where would you get the push blocks. Do they sell something like that or would you have to make them.

 

I'm pretty sure they make them, but if they make them in a particular size that is similar to the bumper's crush cap covers that will likely be my biggest struggle.

It's a pretty common thing for rescue vehicles like fire trucks etc.

Here's one I saw on eBay.



Essentially they're a big rubber block with 4 holes in it. So doing some modding to the rubber to make it fit shouldn't be too difficult if I can't find an exact fit. As well, to put it over the top of the tow hook should just require a little router work to hollow out the back of the push block.

Here's a Wrangler modded with them.....a little more than I'll be doing, but shows the concept.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX-_rM4Y2Mc

 

I'm definitely having troubles trying to find some push blocks. Amazon has a few of them listed, but they're not in the size I need and they also come with pre-drilled holes which aren't in good locations based upon I intend to put the Tow hooks behind it.

Here's the closest I found. It is LxWxD= 12"x4"x4". I need something around 6.25"x5"x4" I almost could work with this one by cutting the length, but I need the Width to be at a minimum 4.5" to cover the tow hook.


What I'm highly considering is purchasing the AEV Crush Cap covers because they're obviously the exact dimensions I need and then filling them with some kind of hard rubberized material so they can be used as push blocks. I just don't know what that rubberized material would be.

 

I'm not sure how much this would cost but you could use an RTV sealant. That way it is low enough in viscosity to conform to the shape, then it cures (Room Temperature Vulcanization) and voila. I'm just trying to think that if you had a large enough mass of this would it have the modulus that you desire. I am an epoxy chemist so I am out of my element (pun intended!) with Silicone rubbers. Boy if I had access to polyurethane I could conger up some cool semi rigid foam, but we don't have much PU in our lab and anyway I suck as a urethane chemist.

I just went out in the garage and grabbed the tube of Ultra Black RTV, it has no cap so the end has reacted and it's still pretty flexible, you might have to do a test run. Squeeze out an entire tube in a tupperware container and wait a while until it cures. You could then gauge if it has the properties you want.

Just me rambling...

 

Ramble on please!!! Sounds like a great idea. I'm an electrical engineer, so when it comes to electrical mods I'm pretty good in those idea suggestion areas, but with mechanical and rubber/plastic material fabing, I'm pretty much at the mercy of, if I can't buy it, then I'm not sure where to start.

 

I prefer the D-Rings mounted where the crush cans are.

 

D-Rings only don't help out with bumper pushing. I need to take into consideration that I'm helping others get unstuck from the snow. I don't think they would be too appreciative if while doing that, I left them with $2K of paint and body repair damage due to D-Rings scrapping metal to metal.

 

The bolts for the stock tow hooks are pressed in, if I remember right, so there's a small obstacle. I don't see why you couldn't contact a "safety" company and have them send you a catalog. I can only think of pig mat right now but they have other stuff. Another option may be to check out a boating shop that would have those buffers for docks or even a truck stop.

A side bar- we don't get near the snow here but I used my steel bumper to push on the gate of an expedition- at the owner's request even after I warned her of the potential damage- and it left no damage on the truck. I pushed her crossways through a ditch and back onto the road. It peeled a little of my rattlecan paint off of my bumper but no damage.

Good luck and keep it updated, I may borrow your solution for helping cars out of the flood water we're slated to receive shortly.

 

Thanks for the additional suggestions.

For now, I'm going to order some replacement crush can covers. Once, I get them and see how they fit around the crush cans I'm going to try and figure something out. I may leave the crush cans attached to the bumper and then put some kind of RTV sealant as suggested inside of the crush can covers to fill in any air gaps between the cover and the crush cans. That way I should get some rigidness from the crush cans for pushing, while the RTV sealant should help prevent the crush can cover from collapsing and getting damaged.

With all the accessories that are available for JKs, I'm kind of surprised there aren't any Push blocks made specifically for Wranglers, seeing as though aside from being an offroad vehicle, Wranglers are also often used for fire and rescue purposes. I guess, there isn't as much of a market for them as I originally anticipated.